BMJ 2014;348:g2602 doi: 10.1136/bmj.g2602 (Published 7 April 2014)
Page 1 of 1
Letters
LETTERS NEW USES FOR EXISTING DRUGS
Reporting unexpected benefit through the yellow card system Anne Appleton independent pharmaceutical physician Appleton Medical, Weybridge KT13 9EE, UK
Borges proposes that adverse event reports could be used to detect unexpected uses for existing drugs to avoid laborious and costly development from scratch.1 Indeed, reporting of unexpected benefit is already embedded in UK pharmacovigilance reporting, through the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency yellow card system (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/). Perhaps clinicians simply need to be more aware of the importance of reporting unexpected benefit, in addition to expected and unexpected harm. As a truly global medical journal, the BMJ could raise global awareness of this matter.
As doctors, we can all do our bit to raise awareness of this issue and ultimately improve the outlook for patients, including those with rare and orphan diseases. Competing interests: As a freelance pharmaceutical physician, I provide advice and support to pharmaceutical clients. 1
Borges R. We need a global system to help identify new uses for existing drugs. BMJ 2014;348:g1806. (27 February.)
Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g2602 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2014
[email protected] For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
Page 1 of 1
Letters
LETTERS NEW USES FOR EXISTING DRUGS
Reporting unexpected benefit through the yellow card system Anne Appleton independent pharmaceutical physician Appleton Medical, Weybridge KT13 9EE, UK
Borges proposes that adverse event reports could be used to detect unexpected uses for existing drugs to avoid laborious and costly development from scratch.1 Indeed, reporting of unexpected benefit is already embedded in UK pharmacovigilance reporting, through the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency yellow card system (https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/). Perhaps clinicians simply need to be more aware of the importance of reporting unexpected benefit, in addition to expected and unexpected harm. As a truly global medical journal, the BMJ could raise global awareness of this matter.
As doctors, we can all do our bit to raise awareness of this issue and ultimately improve the outlook for patients, including those with rare and orphan diseases. Competing interests: As a freelance pharmaceutical physician, I provide advice and support to pharmaceutical clients. 1
Borges R. We need a global system to help identify new uses for existing drugs. BMJ 2014;348:g1806. (27 February.)
Cite this as: BMJ 2014;348:g2602 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2014
[email protected] For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
